Asynchronous virtual assistant

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, obtaining an input, e.g., from a human operator, comprising a request. A number of activities are identified, e.g., by a virtual assistant, based on the request. Performance of the number of activities is facilitated, e.g., by the virtual assistant. A result is determined, e.g., by the virtual assistant, based on the performance of the number of activities, wherein a response to the request is based on the result. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/351,863 filed Nov. 15, 2016. The contents of the foregoing is herebyincorporated by reference into this application as if set forth hereinin full.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject disclosure relates to an Asynchronous Virtual Assistant.

BACKGROUND

Recent developments have resulted in new and improved computer programsor agents that simulate intelligent conversations with one or more humanusers. Such interactive speech services are sometimes referred to as“chatbots” or “chatterbots.” Apple Inc.'s iOS operating system providesa SIRI® personal assistant, as one example of a voice-activated personalagent that can understand human speech and act based on a specified setof actions. SIRI is registered trademark of Apple Inc. Personal agentscan be used today for both enterprise and consumer services using eitherchat or speech.

Currently available personal agents are understood to operate in adialog form, sometimes referred to as a “tic-tac flow” format. Namely,the user says something and the machine responds. The user may followwith another instruction to which the machine similarly responds. Suchinteractions can be considered synchronous, e.g., in that machineresponses immediately follow or are otherwise synchronized to apreceding dialog.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a system that supports anasynchronous virtual assistant;

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of another system thatsupports an asynchronous virtual assistant;

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a process used in portionsof the system described in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIGS. 4-5 depict illustrative embodiments of communication systems thatprovide media services that can be accessed or otherwise requested,provisioned and/or controlled by the systems described in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a web portal forinteracting with the communication systems that can be accessed orotherwise requested, provisioned and/or controlled by the systemsdescribed in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5;

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication device thatprovides or otherwise supports an asynchronous virtual assistant, suchas the systems described in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, maycause the machine to perform any one or more of the methods describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments for providing a virtual assistant that responds to user taskorders, without necessarily requiring a dialog with the user. The usercan provide simple tasks and/or more complicated tasks that includemultiple facets or sub-tasks. The virtual assistant responds to theorders by identifying micro-actions and/or macro-actions that whenexecuted, enact or otherwise accomplish a requested task. Otherembodiments are described in the subject disclosure.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a process thatincludes obtaining, by a processing system including a processor, ahuman interpretable input comprising a primary instruction. A number ofsecondary instructions are identified based on the primary instructionand initiation of the number of secondary instructions are facilitated.A result is determined based on the number of secondary instructions,wherein a response to the primary instruction is based on the result.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a system having aprocessing system including a processor and a memory that storesexecutable instructions that, when executed by the processing system,facilitate performance of operations. The operations include obtaining auser input that includes an instruction. A number of instructioncomponents are identified, wherein a response to the instruction isbased on execution of the number of instruction components, andexecution of the number of instruction components is facilitated. Aresponse is determined based on the execution of the number ofinstruction components.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a machine-readablestorage medium, including executable instructions that, when executed bya processing system including a processor, facilitate performance ofoperations. The operations obtaining an input from equipment of a usercomprising a request. A number of activities are identified based on therequest, and performance of the number of activities is facilitated. Aresult is determined based on the performance of the plurality ofactivities, wherein a response to the request is based on the result.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a system 100 that providesan asynchronous virtual assistant. The system 100 includes a datacollector 102, a data analyzer 104, a policy or rules engine 106, anapplication or service controller 108, and a response engine 112. Thedata collector 102 captures input from a user. The input can include oneor more of an instruction, an order, e.g., a task order, or a request.It is understood that any such instruction can be directed to aperceived virtual assistant, with an understanding that the virtualassistant will act upon the instruction to undertake one or moreactivities and/or to produce one or more responses, results or outputthat preferably fulfill or otherwise satisfy the task order. It isunderstood that the virtual assistant, as implemented by the examplesystem 100, undertakes one or more actions, activities or process stepsthat respond to the input, with a goal of fulfilling the task order toproduce a desired result for the user.

The user input can take on one or more forms, such as voice or speech,non-verbal sounds, text, click streams, gestures and the like. To thatend, the data collector can include one or more of an audio sensor, suchas a microphone, an optical sensor, such as a still or video camera, aphysical user interface, such as a keyboard, or control panel, and/or agraphical user interface. A microphone sensor includes a transducer thatproduces an electrical signal in response to detected sounds, such asthe speech or vocalizations of the user. In some embodiments, theresulting electrical signal is referred to as an audio signal that canbe processed as an analog signal, and/or digitized, e.g., using ananalog-to-digital converter and processed as a digital signal.

It is understood that in at least some embodiments intelligence can beobtained from the audio signal, e.g., by converting speech-to-text. Insuch instances, a textual representation of detected audio, e.g., theuser's vocalizations, is provided to the data analyzer 104 for furtherprocessing. Alternatively or in addition, intelligence can be obtainedfrom a gesture-based interface, e.g., a camera and/or camera arraytrained upon the user. For example, the user waves a hand towards theinterface, as though waving for a live assistant to come closer. Thegesture can be interpreted as an instruction to begin an instructionalsession. Consider the system 100 responding to the hand gesture, such asa raising or a wave of a hand, with an audible response, “Do you needme?” or “Is there something I can do for you?” Such response can alsoprepare the system to accept the following voice communications. In thismanner, the system 100 can be running in a background sense, withoutresponding to speech until queued by an appropriate gesture.

In at least some embodiments, audio input can include non-verbal cues,such as a speaker's volume, intonation, non-verbal utterances, includinghand clap, a tap, whistle and the like. Such cues can be interpreted bythe system, e.g., as an indication of a particular function or action,such as directing telephone calls to voice mail, adjusting officelighting, music and the like.

It is understood that in at least some embodiments, the data collector102 can include a recognition feature, such as facial recognition and/orvoice recognition. Such recognition features can be used to identify auser as an authorized user, e.g., providing an implicit degree ofsecurity to protect against unauthorized access. Alternatively or inaddition, such recognition features can be used to distinguishinstructions from among a group of different individuals in a presenceof the system. Consider an office meeting in which some members mayengage in conversation, while an authorized user provides input to thesystem 100. The system 100 distinguishes the authorized user from theother meeting members and accepts input from the authorized user whileblocking or otherwise ignoring any vocalizations and/or gestures fromunauthorized individuals, including the other meeting members.

In some embodiments, the data collector 102 accepts textual input fromequipment of the authorized user. The equipment can include, withoutlimitation, a keyboard and/or pointing device, e.g., of the user'sdesktop computer, laptop computer, tablet device, smart phone, smarttelevision, and the like. The input can be obtained directly from adevice, or indirectly from a service. Services can include, withoutlimitation, Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service(MMS), Dual-Tone-Multiple-Frequency (DTMF) input, e.g., from atelephone, email, and the like. The collected data can be obtained froma live user in a presence of the system 100, or a remote user, e.g., byway of a videoconference, a telephone call, a network connection, andthe like.

A user input in the form of an instruction, an order, e.g., a taskorder, or a request can include a simple instruction, e.g., including asingle order or task. For example, the task order might be to “Clear mycalendar for this afternoon” or “Order a car service to take me to theairport in 30 minutes.” Alternatively, the task order can include acomplex or compound order, e.g., including a list of instructions orsubtasks. For example, a complex task order might be to “Clear mycalendar for this afternoon and order a car service to take me to theairport in 30 minutes.

It is understood that in at least some embodiments, the data collector102 can include a prompt and/or feedback mechanism by which the system100 can communicate back to the user. Without limitation, such promptsand/or feedback might include a limited number of textual and/orvocalized phrases, such as “Did you need my assistance?” or “Will thatbe all Ms. Johnson?”. Such simple feedback items can be helpful todiscern when the user is providing input to be processed by the system,and when the user has concluded providing such input.

To the extent error checking is applied by one or more modules of thesystem 100, additional prompts can be provided by the system 100 to theuser to identify and/or resolve such errors. At least some errors can beassociated with the input, e.g., if a word or phrase was inaudible, orif an interpreted word or phrase seems out of place, the user can beprompted immediately for confirmation and/or correction. Alternativelyor in addition, at least some errors can be associated with theunderlying instructions. For example, if the user requests that aproject status meeting scheduled on the 14^(th) of the month be movedout one week, when in fact the meeting is scheduled on the 15^(th). Thesystem can request clarification, e.g., “Did you mean to reschedule theproject meeting on the 15^(th)?”.

Likewise, feedback can be provided for conflict resolution and/orclarification. Consider a user instructing and/or requesting that afinancial slide from a quarterly report be included in a project summarypresentation being prepared for an upcoming status meeting. To theextent there is ambiguity as to which financial slide, which quarterlyreport, or even which project, the system can request clarification,during the data collection phase or sometime thereafter.

In another example, the user provides a primary instruction by tellingthe virtual assistant to coordinate a dinner date with a client at alocal restaurant, for next Tuesday at 7 pm. In this instance, therequest will require multiple steps, secondary instructions orinstruction components. The virtual assistant parses the primaryinstruction and determines that several secondary instructions will benecessary. For example, the instructions can include entering theappointment in the user's calendar, coordinating a reservation at therestaurant and inviting the client.

Continuing with the illustrative example, the assistant accesses theuser's calendar to provide a calendar entry for the dinner. At thispoint, the virtual assistant can perform a conflict check to ensure thatthe user does not have a conflicting engagement. It is understood thatthe system 100 can include one or more conflict management modules 116,e.g., in communication with one or more of the data collector 102, thedata analyzer 104, the policy or rules engine 106, the application orservice controller 108, the response engine 112 and/or an AI engine 114.

To the extent that a conflicting engagement is identified, the virtualassistant can implement a conflict resolution. Conflict resolution caninclude one or more of notifying the user of the conflict and requestingclarification, notifying the user and proposing a suggested conflictresolution, or implementing a conflict resolution logic. Conflictresolution logic can include pre-programmed responses, e.g., identifyingan order of precedence for calendar activities that allows someactivities to be cancelled or moved based on other, more importantactivities. Alternatively or in addition, conflict resolution caninclude artificial intelligence and/or machine learning, e.g., resolvingconflicts and/or proposing conflict resolution based on how similarconflicts have been resolved in the past.

Presuming that there are no conflicts, or that any conflicts have beenresolved, the virtual assistant contacts the restaurant to make areservation for next Tuesday at 7 pm for a party of two. Once again,conflict checking can be applied, e.g., if a reservation is notavailable for the requested time. Resolutions can include checking forother times according to the user's calendar, and/or other restaurants.Proposal of alternative restaurants can be based on a user response,e.g., upon notification by the virtual assistant that the venue is notavailable, and/or based on user preferences, e.g., according to a userprofile and/or past reservations, and/or based on a machine logic and/orartificial intelligence that selects and alternative venue based on oneor more characteristics, such as type of food, style of venue, location,and the like.

Having determined that the user is available and that a restaurant hasbeen identified, the assistant can send an invitation to the client. Inat least some embodiments, the assistant can confirm that the client hasaccepted and provide a response to the user to let her know that thedinner plans are all set. The response can include a voice response,e.g., Ms. Jones, your dinner with the client is all set for next Tuesdayat 7 pm. Alternatively or in addition, the response can include a textmessage, and/or an email and the like.

Feedback can be provided in the same mode in which it was administered.Namely, speech output of feedback can be provided when the user is usinga speech-to-text input mode. Likewise, textual output can be providedwhen using a textual interface, e.g., computer, mobile phone, SMS, emailand the like.

The data analyzer 104 accepts collected user input from the datacollector 102. It is understood that the data collector can include atleast some pre-processing to the user input, e.g., converting speech totext. The data analyzer or data analytic module 104 applies a set ofprocessing functions to further process the collected user input. Insome embodiments, the data analyzer applies an input normalizationfunction. Such input normalizations can include correcting spellingerrors, replacing one or more words with accepted replacements, e.g.,according to a preferred vocabulary and/or dictionary. Thus, words orphrases of the collected input can be corrected, interpreted and/orreplaced with one or more suitable words or phrases. The data analyzer104 can include and/or access one or more dictionaries and/orthesauruses. In some embodiments, the data analyzer 104 can applystemming and/or word parsing to reduce words to their stems, prefixesand/or suffixes. Such stemming can facilitate and/or simplifyinterpretations, e.g., using finite dictionaries, by focusing on one ormore portions of a word.

It is understood that in at least some embodiments, the system can beconfigured in a domain specific mode. Such configurations can include ageneral business domain, e.g., to assume a role of a virtual office orexecutive assistant or secretary. Alternatively or in addition, otherdomain-specific configurations can include a legal office domain, amedical office domain, surgical unit domain, and the like. Such domainscan generally be configured with dictionaries, vocabularies, rules andthe like, that are anticipated or otherwise associated with theirrespective domains. Thus, a legal office domain can be tailored tointeract with certain court filing systems, legal file systems, internalgroups, such as legal docketing, and the like. Such a legal officedomain would not be expected to respond to surgical instructions,interact with operating room systems, hospital systems, and the like.

In at least some embodiments, the data analyzer 104 includes one or moreof a syntactic processor or a semantic parsing processor. Such syntacticand/or semantic parsing processors can be used to identify distinct orotherwise separable portions of the collected user input. For example,the data analyzer 104 can parse or otherwise distinguish multiplesubtask orders of a compound task order. For example, such parsing canbe accomplished by periods and/or pauses encountered in the collecteduser input. Further examples of output segments, subtasks or chunks caninclude: “I would like to obtain slide one,” “Go and combine it,” etc.

Alternatively or in addition, the data analyzer 104 can parse orotherwise distinguish input segments or “chunks” based on a perceivedgrammar Namely, the data analyzer 104 can identify, distinguish orotherwise discern subject, verb and/or object of a sentence chunk. Suchinterpretations can be made according to generally known techniques,e.g., based on vocabulary, word placement, and the like.

By way of example, in preparing for a meeting, the collected user inputincludes the following subtasks or sentence chunks identified in Table1.

TABLE 1 Example Parsed User Input. Ref. Subtask 1 “Get me the slidesfrom John Smith's meeting on our 1^(st) quarterly town hall.” 2 “Findthe one on the project Alpha priorities for 2016.” 3 “Add that slide atthe beginning of my town hall presentation for tomorrow.” 4 “Email theslides to Jonathan Smith who will be managing that meeting.” 5 “LetJonathan know to reach out to me if he has any questions.”

By way of example, a parsed subtask ref. 1, includes: (i) a verb “get”;(ii) a subject “me”; (iii) an object “slides”; and an object modifier(iv) “from John Smith's meeting on our 1^(st) quarterly town hall.

In at least some embodiments, the data analyzer 104 provides an outputthat includes distinguishable subtask orders of a compound task order.Alternatively or in addition, the data analyzer 104 provides an outputthat identifies or otherwise parses out actions to be performed and/orobjects to be used in the performance of the actions.

The policy or rules engine 106 receives parsed input from the dataanalyzer 104. Among various activities of policy/rules engine 106, theparsed user input segments or chunks are translated into actions and/ormicro-actions. Micro-actions can include elementary actions thataddress, respond to or otherwise implement a task order and/or a subtaskorder, and/or a piece or portion of a task order and/or subtask order.

In at least some embodiments, the policy/rules engine 106 organizes theactions and/or micro-actions. Such organization can be obtainedaccording to a logical application of the actions, micro-actions.Consider subtask ref. 2, which orders to “Find the one on project Alphapriorities for 2016.” In this instance, interpretation of “the one” canbe obtained from a contextual interpretation of the user input that ispreceded by subtask ref. 1, in which the user requests the “slides.”

The policy/rules engine 106 then concatenates the micro-actions intodistinct macro-actions, such as “get the slide,” “combine the slide,”“email the slide,” etc. The policy/rules engine 106 can performsconflict resolution and requests clarification from the user if two ormore macro-actions in a sequence do not align. For example, meet withJohn Smith, then add the slide.

The policy/rules engine 106, upon encountering a word or phrase to beinterpreted into a corresponding micro-action can apply aninterpretation process or routine. In some embodiments, the term isexplicit and definite, such as the object of the ref. 1 subtask. Namely,“the slides from John Smith's meeting . . . ” In this instance, atranslation results in a micro-action to open or otherwise access acomputer file that contains the slides from John Smith's meeting. If thelocation of the computer file is unknown, the translation may includeanother preceding micro-action that conducts a search, e.g., of a harddrive, a file system, and/or a database to locate the requested file.The resulting location can be used in the micro-action to access orotherwise open the appropriate computer file.

In reference to ref. 2 subtask, however, there is some degree ofuncertainty or ambiguity in the phrase “the one.” In this instance, thepolicy/rules engine 106 can apply a logical routine to identify ameaning of “the one.” For example, the logical routine can considerother subtasks and/or micro-actions to identify objects being accessedor otherwise manipulated. For instances in which multiple objects arereferred to, a further logic can be applied to identify which object ismost likely being referred to. In the illustrative example, a precedingsubtask refers to an object, “the slides from John Smith's meeting.” Itis likely that “the one” refers to a preceding object, such as the Smithslides.

The logic of the policy/rules engine 106 can make an educated guess,then follow up with a validation. In the illustrative example, the userrequests “the one on the project Alpha priorities for 2016.” Anancillary micro-action can be included in the translation to checkwhether the suspected “one” is the Smith slides, by searching an openedfile of the slides to identify one “on the project Alpha priorities for2016.” To the extent a corresponding slide is identified within theSmith slides, a conclusion can be reached based on the ancillary actionthat the interpretation of “the one” referred to the Smith slides.

To the extent that there may be other possible interpretations of “theone,” other ancillary micro-actions can be implemented, e.g., to lookfor the one “on the project Alpha priorities for 2016” in any or all ofthe other candidates. The ancillary micro-actions may not directly leadto enacting a requested task, but can be helpful in a supporting role,e.g., for reduction in ambiguity, validation, and the like.

In some embodiments, an ordering is determined of the task orders,subtask orders, and/or the micro-actions. The ordering can be implied,e.g., according to a sequence in which the original task order wasreceived during data collection. According to the illustrative example,an ordering of the subtasks identified in Table 1 can be inferred fromtheir ordering in the instruction, e.g., according to their ref.numbers.

Alternatively or in addition, one or more of the task orders, subtaskorders and/or micro-actions can be arranged, considered and/or otherwiseprocessed according to an explicit order. It is conceivable that in atleast some instances, the task orders, subtask orders and/ormicro-actions will include indicia of their order. For example, the usermight provide an input along the lines of “First, do A” “Then, do B.” Inthis instance, the ordinal phrases provide an explicit indication oftheir intended order. Alternatively or in addition, ordering can bedetermined according to the orders, subtask orders and/or micro-actions.Namely, processing logic may dictate that certain tasks be completedbefore other tasks. Consider that a computer file including the Smithslides must be accessed before it can be opened, then opened before therequested slide can be identified, and the requested slide identifiedbefore it can be copied into the user's presentation.

In some embodiments, the policy/rules engine 106 analyzes and/orotherwise interprets the parsed user input to detect a presence orabsence of interdependencies between subtasks. To the extent a subtaskdoes not depend on another subtask, any particular ordering, at least ata subtask level, may be irrelevant. Such a lack of interdependenciesprovides an opportunity for efficiency. Namely, one or more subtasks canbe implemented in parallel to expedite a total response time.Alternatively or in addition, such non-interdependent tasks can beimplemented at an opportune time, e.g., based on one or more ofprocessing capacity, memory usage, communication bandwidth, and thelike.

The policy/rules engine 106 finally recommend a set of macro-actions forthe next module to perform. It is understood that in at least someembodiments, a sequencing of the macro-actions can depend on one or moreof the foregoing. Namely, the policy/rules engine 106 can determine anordering based on necessity, e.g., dependencies, or convenience, e.g.,efficiencies. The ordering can be stored, at least temporarily, in aninternal data structure that can be used to orchestrate themicro-actions, subtasks and the like.

The application and/or service controller 108 receives input from thepolicy/rules engine 106 that identifies micro-actions. Theapplication/service controller 108 responds to the input by facilitatingand/or otherwise performing each macro-action. Continuing with theillustrative example, the macro-actions can include (i) “get the slide,”(ii) “combine the slide,” (iii) “email the slide.”

In response to the first macro-action, the application and/or servicecontroller 108 can access an application, such as PowerPoint® slide showpresentation program. PowerPoint is a registered trademark of theMicrosoft Corporation. The application can be controlled or otherwiseinstructed by the application and/or service controller 108 to open theSmith slides, to locate the desired slide, and to copy the slide.Likewise, in response to the second macro-action, the application and/orservice controller 108 can once again use the PowerPoint® slide showpresentation to open the user's presentation and to paste or otherwisecombine the selected slide from the Smith presentation, and to save theupdated presentation. Finally, the application and/or service controller108 can access an email application, such as Outlook® email applicationto email the slide to an intended recipient. The application and/orservice controller 108 can interact with one or more of applicationsand/or services by way of respective application program interfaces(APIs).

In at least some embodiments, the application and/or service controller108 includes error handling. For example, if any of the foregoingexample macro-action fail, the application/service controller 108 canattempt to facilitate or otherwise perform a recovery. For example, theapplication and/or service controller 108 returns back to thepolicy/rules engine 106 to request a recommendation as the task hasfailed. The application/service controller 108 module can be configuredto collect which actions have been executed correctly, and to determinewhen an application has been completed successfully. Alternatively or inaddition, the application/service controller 108 can be configured tocollect which actions have not been executed correctly, and to determinewhen an application cannot be completed successfully

The application/service controller 108 provides an output to theresponse engine 112. The response engine module 112 can be configured tosynthesize a response to the user. In some embodiments, the synthesizedresponse summarizes all of the actions taken. For example, thesynthesized response can indicate that: “Your new slides have beencreated and set to Jonathan.” Likewise, a synthesized response caninclude any portions of the request that could not be accomplished forany reason.

To the extent that reasons are known, the response engine 112 canprovide reasons with response. Alternatively or in addition, theresponse engine 112 can simply identify any issues and query the user asto whether further detail should be provided. To the extent the userrequires further detail, the response engine 112 can provide thedetails.

The response engine 112 can provide output in one or more differentformats. For example, the response engine 112 can include atext-to-speech synthesizer to provide speech at an output channel.Alternatively or in addition, the response engine 112 can provide anoutput according to any generally accepted means of communication. Thiscan include text, e.g., SMS, messages, email messages, voice mailmessages and the like. In some embodiments, a particular form of outputcan be based on a format of the input. Thus, speech in can beget speechout. Text in begets text out and the like.

Alternatively or in addition, the output format is identified in theinstruction. For example, a user may provide a task order using voicecommands, but request that any updates or results be provided by one ormore other modes, such as text message, email, and the like. In at leastsome embodiments, a preferred and/or default mode of providing aresponse can be provide in a user profile, e.g., a user configurationfile.

It should be understood that an individual user may adopt more than onepersona in relation to interactions with the system. For example, anexecutive can assume the role of executive for some activities, familymember for other activities, board member for other activities and soon. It is conceivable that the system can deduce which persona mightapply based on a context of the order, including content of the taskorder and/or where, when and how the order was received. Alternativelyor in addition, the user can select or otherwise indicate which personashould apply in association with a particular task order or command. Tothe extent that user profiles are available, it is further understoodthat such profiles can include variants according to different personaof the same individual. Thus, a default or preferred communication modeto be applied by the response engine 112 can be determined according tothe persona and/or a user profile.

In some embodiments, the system includes an Artificial Intelligence (AI)module 114 (shown in phantom) that can be in communication with one ormore elements or modules of the system. The example AI module 114 is incommunication with the Data analyzer 104, the policy engine 106 and theapplication controller 108. The AI module 114 can be applied to one ormore of the core functions of the corresponding modules 104, 106, 108,and/or serve as a separate function.

For example, it is envisioned that the system can apply a learningfunction to improve performance over time. In this capacity, the AIengine 114 can monitor or otherwise track performance of the system 100,e.g., determining when task orders were performed successfully, and whensome sort of complication was encountered. To the extent anycomplications are encountered, the AI engine 114 can includefunctionality to identify a source of the complication and whether thecomplication was ultimately resolved by the system with or without userand or operator intervention.

For instances in which a complication was resolved, including instancesin which operator intervention was necessary, the AI engine 114 canalter and/or suggest alterations to functionality of the one or moremodules 104, 106, 108. In this sense, when similar circumstances thatled to a complication are encountered later, the altered functionalitycan be applied in an attempt to avoid a similar complication. In atleast some embodiments, the AI engine 114 can monitor or otherwise tracksuch altered functionalities to determine whether the alteredfunctionality properly addresses the earlier complication. To the extentthat the altered functionality does not sufficiently address thesituation, the process can be repeated using variants of the alteredfunctionality until a suitable version is obtained.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of another system 200 thatsupports an asynchronous virtual assistant. The system 200 includes aninput processor 202, a data analyzer 204, a policy/rules engine 216, anapplication controller 218, a response orchestrator 222 and an outputprocessor 224. In at least some embodiments, one or more of the inputprocessor 202, the data analyzer 204, the policy/rules engine 216, theapplication controller 218, and the output processor 224 can operate ina similar manner to one or more of the data collector 102, the dataanalyzer 104, the policy/rules engine 106, the application/servicecontroller 108 and the response engine 112 of the preceding system 100(FIG. 1).

In more detail, the system 200 includes one or more of a vocabularyrepository 206, a language pattern recognizer 208 and/or a languageinterpreter 210. The vocabulary repository 206 can include a dictionaryor similar list of accepted vocabulary and/or alternates or variants.The vocabulary repository 206 can be stored locally on a device, such asa device implementing one or more functions of the system 200.Alternatively or in addition, the vocabulary repository 206 can beaccessible by way of a network. Such online vocabulary repositories caninclude repositories accessible by subscription, e.g., by way of a thirdparty, and/or vocabulary repositories provided by a supplier and/orservice provider of the system 200. It is understood that more than onevocabulary repositories can be provided according to levels ofsubscription, application domains, custom tailored to an individual userand/or enterprise and the like.

Likewise, one or more of the language pattern recognizer 208 and/or thelanguage interpreter 210 can be stored locally on the device and/oraccessible by way of a network. Once again, such online language patternrecognizers and/or the language interpreters can include repositoriesaccessible by subscription, e.g., by way of a third party, and/orprovided by a supplier and/or service provider of the system 200. It isunderstood that more than one of either of the language patternrecognizer and/or the language interpreter can be provided according tolevels of subscription, application domains, custom tailored to anindividual user and/or enterprise and the like.

To the extent that AI is applied to the system 200, it is understoodthat AI can be applied to one or more of the vocabulary repository 206,the language pattern recognizer 208 and/or the language interpreter 210.The AI can operate to apply a machine learning, e.g., based on currentand/or past performance to tailor or otherwise modify operation of oneor more of the modules 206, 208, 210 to improve performance for currentand/or future applications. For example, language pattern recognizer 208can adapt to a particular style of speaking and/or writing of aparticular user. Since it is understood that the system 200 can be usedby more than one individual, it is further understood that any suchmodifications based on AI can be distinguished into at least twocategories: ones that apply to every user and others that apply to aparticular user. In this regard, it is understood that AI modificationsadopted by one or more of the modules 206, 208, 210 can be apportionedto particular users.

Consider that the system 200 can adopt a profile based on the currentuser. The adopted profile can be saved separately in a profilerepository. When loaded, the profiles can adapt functionality of one ormore modules of the system 200 based on one or more of user preferences,AI improvements to functionality and the like. It is understood that inat least some embodiments, a system administrator can create, modify,and/or delete one or more user profiles, as needed.

In still more detail, the system 200 includes one or more of a domainmodel repository 212 and/or a task flow model repository 214. The domainmodel repository 212 can include one or more features that when appliedto the system 200, improve or otherwise facilitate application of systemfunctionality to a particular domain. Domains can include, withoutlimitation, business disciplines, e.g., an enterprise versus a smallbusiness, technical disciplines, e.g., biotechnology versus software,and professional disciplines, e.g., medicine versus legal services.

It is understood that in at least some instances one or more of thedomain models 212 and/or task flow models 214 can include functionalitydeveloped for a specific application and/or user. For example, a largecorporate enterprise with multiple varied divisions might include one ormore of a common domain model directed to the enterprise and/or one ormore additional domain models directed to particular divisions.

Likewise, task flow models 214 can be tailored and/or otherwise directedto one or more of the enterprise and/or its varied divisions. It isfurther understood that task flow models 214 can be customized accordingto business rules and/or policies. Such customized task flows cancorrespond to a particular domain model, and/or a particular user.Alternatively or in addition, such customize task flows can be based onother factors, such as subject matter of the task orders, content of themicro/macro-actions and the like.

The response orchestrator 222 can be in communication with one or moreof the application controller 218, the applications/services 220, theoutput processor 224 and/or the task flow model repository 214. In someembodiments, the response orchestrator 222 obtains a task flow modelfrom the task flow model repository 214. The task flow model providesguidance as to orchestration of a response to the user input. Particulartask flow models can correspond to task orders, sub-task orders,macro-actions and even micro-actions.

In some instances, AI can be applied to the response orchestrator 222,e.g., measure and/or otherwise determining an effectiveness of anyapplied orchestrations. To the extent improvements are determined, e.g.,by way of machine learning principles, the improvements may suggestimprovements to a corresponding applied task flow model 214. In thisinstance, the AI can work in tandem with one or more modules of thesystem, such as the response orchestrator 222 and the task flowrepository to modify a task flow, as required and to store the modifiedtask flow for future application according to the techniques disclosedherein.

It is envisioned that the techniques disclosed herein will transform theway in which users interact with machines, e.g., computers, machinesaccording to the Internet of Things (IoT) and the like, creatingopportunities to drive cost saving and new monetization opportunities.Supervisors can instruct a computer to perform a serious ofinstructions. By way of non-limiting example, the instructions mayrelate to developing a presentation, handling a customer caretransaction, a sales transaction, a technical repair issue, etc.Managers can instruct a computer to find better rates and packages for aparticular customer. Service providers, such as network and/or computingresource, i.e., “cloud” services providers, can provide suchcapabilities to their consumers and enterprise customers, and/or sellsimilar solutions as stand-alone products in the market.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a process 300 used inportions of the system described in FIGS. 1-2. A user input is obtainedat 302. The user input can be obtained according to any suitable manneror mode, include the examples included herein. Namely, the user inputcan be obtained at 302 by way of a speech-to-text processor. The usercan address the virtual assistant as one would address a personalassistant. For example, the assistant can be addressed by a name, e.g.,“Wanda” that can be pre-assigned and/or assigned by the user.

The virtual assistant accepts verbal input from the user. Theinteraction between the user and the virtual assistant can beasynchronous. For example, the user may provide one instruction that isenacted upon by the virtual assistant without the virtual assistantproviding an acknowledgment. The virtual assistant can determine abeginning and an end of a user input session. In some embodiments, thebeginning and end can be identified by keywords and/or phrases issued bythe users. For example, the user may indicate a beginning of a userinput session by saying, “Wanda, please take care of . . . ” or somesimilar phrase. Similarly, the user may indicate a conclusion of a userinput session by saying “Thank you, Wanda. That will be all for now,” orsome similar phrase. In some embodiments, a prolonged silence, nonverbalutterance and/or gesture can be used alone or in combination with a wordor phrase to identify beginning and/or end of a user input session.

The user can provide multiple commands or instructions to the virtualassistant in succession, without expecting or receiving anycorresponding feedback from the virtual assistant. Namely, the virtualassistant can patiently accept a series of instructions beforeacknowledging and/or providing any sort of reply. It is understood thatin at least some embodiments, the virtual assistant can begin processinga partial input, e.g., according to the following steps, while stillengaging in an active user input session.

The user input is parsed into segments or “chunks” at 304. For example,text resulting from the speech-to-text processing can be parsed intosegments or chunks. To the extent that the input includes a task orderthat includes multiple sub-tasks, the parsing can include parsing theindividual sub-tasks. It is understood that further parsing can beapplied to identify content of each sub-task for further processing,e.g., subjects, verbs, objects, modifiers, etc. In at least someembodiments the parsing can be accomplished with the assistance of oneor more of a vocabulary repository 206, a language pattern recognizer208 and/or a language interpreter 210 (FIG. 2).

A particular segment or chunk is identified at 306. In some embodiments,the segments or chunks are temporarily stored in one or more buffers. Insome embodiments, a buffer can be associated with those segments orchunks that are implemented according to a particular order. Multiplebuffers can be applied to tasks that can be completed in parallel.

A determination is made at 308 as to whether the identified segmentrequires micro-actions. To the extent micro-actions are applicable, theyare determined at 310, and the micro-action is enacted at 312. To theextent that micro-actions are not applicable the particular segmentaction is enacted at 312.

In at least some embodiments, error checking and/or conflict managementis applied. For example, in the illustrative embodiment, a determinationis made at 313 whether there are any errors and/or conflicts based onthe input and/or the micro-actions. To the extent that any errors and/orconflicts are identified, they can be resolved, e.g., at 315. Havingbeen resolved, the process can continue, e.g., by enacting the segmentaction/micro-action at 312.

The actions and/or micro-actions are orchestrated at 314. In at leastsome embodiments, orchestration can include application of a task flowmodel 214 (FIG. 2). Orchestration can control which applications and/orservices 220 are accessed in which order. Alternatively or in addition,orchestration can facilitate obtaining interim results in an efficientorder to execute processing of the task and/or sub-task.

A determination is made at 316 as to whether more segments are availablefor processing. To the extent that there are more segments, processingcontinues by identifying another segment or chunk at 306. The processcontinues from this point according to the preceding description until adetermination is made at 316 that no further segments are available forprocessing.

An output is optionally provide at 318 (shown in phantom). In someinstances, the output indicates that the requested task order has beencompleted. Alternatively or in addition, the output can provideincremental status updates, e.g., subtask 1 completed, subtasks 2 and 3remaining. To the extent that a subtask cannot be completed and/or thatsome difficulty was encountered, an output can be provided indicatingsuch status.

Alternatively or in addition, an output can be provided that requestsupplemental input from the user. To the extent further input isobtained, a task order being processed can be revised or otherwisemodified to proceed according to the supplemental input. For example, ifa user orders the system 200 to schedule travel including airlines,ground transportation and hotel according to preferred flights, carriersand/or hotels, but one or more of the preferred entities are notavailable, the user can be prompted for alternates. Namely, the system200 by way of the output 318 can ask the user whether a flight time canbe adjusted to accommodate booking on a preferred air carrier, orwhether alternative flights on another carrier should be pursued tomaintain a preferred schedule.

While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the respectiveprocesses are shown and described as a series of blocks in FIG. 3, it isto be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is notlimited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur indifferent orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what isdepicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks maybe required to implement the methods described herein.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a first communicationsystem 400 for delivering media content. The communication system 400can represent an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) media system.Communication system 400 can be overlaid or operably coupled withsystems supporting virtual asynchronous assistants 100, 200 FIGS. 1and/or 2 as another representative embodiment of communication system400. For instance, one or more devices illustrated in the communicationsystem 400 of FIG. 4 can support one or more functions of a virtualasynchronous assistant that obtains an input comprising an order,identifies a number of activities based on the order, facilitatesinitiation of the activities, and determines a result based on theactivities, wherein the result is responsive to the order.

The IPTV media system can include a super head-end office (SHO) 410 withat least one super headend office server (SHS) 411 which receives mediacontent from satellite and/or terrestrial communication systems. In thepresent context, media content can represent, for example, audiocontent, moving image content such as 2D or 3D videos, video games,virtual reality content, still image content, and combinations thereof.The SHS server 411 can forward packets associated with the media contentto one or more video head-end servers (VHS) 414 via a network of videohead-end offices (VHO) 412 according to a multicast communicationprotocol.

The VHS 414 can distribute multimedia broadcast content via an accessnetwork 418 to commercial and/or residential buildings 402 housing agateway 404 (such as a residential or commercial gateway). The accessnetwork 418 can represent a group of digital subscriber line accessmultiplexers (DSLAMs) located in a central office or a service areainterface that provide broadband services over fiber optical links orcopper twisted pairs 419 to buildings 402. The gateway 404 can usecommunication technology to distribute broadcast signals to mediaprocessors 406 such as Set-Top Boxes (STBs) which in turn presentbroadcast channels to media devices 408 such as computers or televisionsets managed in some instances by a media controller 407 (such as aninfrared or RF remote controller).

The gateway 404, the media processors 406, and media devices 408 canutilize tethered communication technologies (such as coaxial, powerlineor phone line wiring) or can operate over a wireless access protocolsuch as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), Bluetooth®, Zigbee or other present ornext generation local or personal area wireless network technologies. Byway of these interfaces, unicast communications can also be invokedbetween the media processors 406 and subsystems of the IPTV media systemfor services such as video-on-demand (VoD), browsing an electronicprogramming guide (EPG), or other infrastructure services.

A satellite broadcast television system 429 can be used in the mediasystem of FIG. 4. The satellite broadcast television system can beoverlaid, operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system as anotherrepresentative embodiment of communication system 400. In thisembodiment, signals transmitted by a satellite 415 that include mediacontent can be received by a satellite dish receiver 431 coupled to thebuilding 402. Modulated signals received by the satellite dish receiver431 can be transferred to the media processors 406 for demodulating,decoding, encoding, and/or distributing broadcast channels to the mediadevices 408. The media processors 406 can be equipped with a broadbandport to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) network 432 to enableinteractive services such as VoD and EPG as described above.

In yet another embodiment, an analog or digital cable broadcastdistribution system such as cable TV system 433 can be overlaid,operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system and/or the satelliteTV system as another representative embodiment of communication system400. In this embodiment, the cable TV system 433 can also provideInternet, telephony, and interactive media services. System 400 enablesvarious types of interactive television and/or services including IPTV,cable and/or satellite.

The subject disclosure can apply to other present or next generationover-the-air and/or landline media content services system.

Some of the network elements of the IPTV media system can be coupled toone or more computing devices 430, a portion of which can operate as aweb server for providing web portal services over the ISP network 432 towireline media devices 408 or wireless communication devices 416.

Communication system 400 can also provide for all or a portion of thecomputing devices 430 to function as a virtual asynchronous assistantsystem (herein referred to as a virtual assistant processor 430). Thevirtual assistant processor 430 can use computing and communicationtechnology to perform function 462, which can include among otherthings, the virtual asynchronous assistant processing techniquesdescribed by the process 300 of FIG. 3. For instance, function 462 ofserver 430 can be similar to the functions described one or more of themodules 102, 104, 106, 108, 112, 114 of FIG. 1, and/or one or more ofthe modules 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 224 of FIG. 2in accordance with process 300 of FIG. 3. The media processors 406 andwireless communication devices 416 can be provisioned with softwarefunctions 464 and 466, respectively, to utilize the services of virtualassistant processor 430. For instance, functions 464 and 466 of mediaprocessors 406 and wireless communication devices 416 can be similar tothe functions described for the systems 100, 200 of FIGS. 1 and 2 inaccordance with the process 300 of FIG. 3.

Multiple forms of media services can be offered to media devices overlandline technologies such as those described above. Additionally, mediaservices can be offered to media devices by way of a wireless accessbase station 417 operating according to common wireless access protocolssuch as Global System for Mobile or GSM, Code Division Multiple Accessor CDMA, Time Division Multiple Access or TDMA, Universal MobileTelecommunications or UMTS, World interoperability for Microwave orWiMAX, Software Defined Radio or SDR, Long Term Evolution or LTE, and soon. Other present and next generation wide area wireless access networktechnologies can be used in one or more embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 500employing an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network architecture tofacilitate the combined services of circuit-switched and packet-switchedsystems. Communication system 500 can be overlaid or operably coupledwith the system 100, 200 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 and communication system400 as another representative embodiment of communication system 400.One or more devices illustrated in the communication system 500 of FIG.5 can support one or more functions of a virtual asynchronous assistantthat obtains an input comprising an order, identifies a number ofactivities based on the order, facilitates initiation of the activities,and determines a result based on the activities, wherein the result isresponsive to the order.

Communication system 500 can comprise a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)540, a tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) server 530, and other networkelements of an IMS network 550. The IMS network 550 can establishcommunications between IMS-compliant communication devices (CDs) 501,502, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) CDs 503, 505, andcombinations thereof by way of a Media Gateway Control Function (MGCF)520 coupled to a PSTN network 560. The MGCF 520 need not be used when acommunication session involves IMS CD to IMS CD communications. Acommunication session involving at least one PSTN CD may utilize theMGCF 520.

IMS CDs 501, 502 can register with the IMS network 550 by contacting aProxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) which communicates with aninterrogating CSCF (I-CSCF), which in turn, communicates with a ServingCSCF (S-CSCF) to register the CDs with the HSS 540. To initiate acommunication session between CDs, an originating IMS CD 501 can submita Session Initiation Protocol (SIP INVITE) message to an originatingP-CSCF 504 which communicates with a corresponding originating S-CSCF506. The originating S-CSCF 506 can submit the SIP INVITE message to oneor more application servers (aSs) 517 that can provide a variety ofservices to IMS subscribers.

For example, the application servers 517 can be used to performoriginating call feature treatment functions on the calling party numberreceived by the originating S-CSCF 506 in the SIP INVITE message.Originating treatment functions can include determining whether thecalling party number has international calling services, call IDblocking, calling name blocking, 7-digit dialing, and/or is requestingspecial telephony features (e.g., *72 forward calls, *73 cancel callforwarding, *67 for caller ID blocking, and so on). Based on initialfilter criteria (iFCs) in a subscriber profile associated with a CD, oneor more application servers may be invoked to provide various calloriginating feature services.

Additionally, the originating S-CSCF 506 can submit queries to the ENUMsystem 530 to translate an E.164 telephone number in the SIP INVITEmessage to a SIP Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) if the terminatingcommunication device is IMS-compliant. The SIP URI can be used by anInterrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 507 to submit a query to the HSS 540 toidentify a terminating S-CSCF 514 associated with a terminating IMS CDsuch as reference 502. Once identified, the I-CSCF 507 can submit theSIP INVITE message to the terminating S-CSCF 514. The terminating S-CSCF514 can then identify a terminating P-CSCF 516 associated with theterminating CD 502. The P-CSCF 516 may then signal the CD 502 toestablish Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communication services,thereby enabling the calling and called parties to engage in voiceand/or data communications. Based on the iFCs in the subscriber profile,one or more application servers may be invoked to provide various callterminating feature services, such as call forwarding, do not disturb,music tones, simultaneous ringing, sequential ringing, etc.

In some instances the aforementioned communication process issymmetrical. Accordingly, the terms “originating” and “terminating” inFIG. 5 may be interchangeable. It is further noted that communicationsystem 500 can be adapted to support video conferencing. In addition,communication system 500 can be adapted to provide the IMS CDs 501, 502with the multimedia and Internet services of communication system 400 ofFIG. 4.

If the terminating communication device is instead a PSTN CD such as CD503 or CD 505 (in instances where the cellular phone only supportscircuit-switched voice communications), the ENUM system 530 can respondwith an unsuccessful address resolution which can cause the originatingS-CSCF 506 to forward the call to the MGCF 520 via a Breakout GatewayControl Function (BGCF) 519. The MGCF 520 can then initiate the call tothe terminating PSTN CD over the PSTN network 560 to enable the callingand called parties to engage in voice and/or data communications.

It is further appreciated that the CDs of FIG. 5 can operate as wirelineor wireless devices. For example, the CDs of FIG. 5 can becommunicatively coupled to a cellular base station 521, a femtocell, aWiFi router, a Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) baseunit, or another suitable wireless access unit to establishcommunications with the IMS network 550 of FIG. 5. The cellular accessbase station 521 can operate according to common wireless accessprotocols such as GSM, CDMA, TDMA, UMTS, WiMax, SDR, LTE, and so on.Other present and next generation wireless network technologies can beused by one or more embodiments of the subject disclosure. Accordingly,multiple wireline and wireless communication technologies can be used bythe CDs of FIG. 5.

Cellular phones supporting LTE can support packet-switched voice andpacket-switched data communications and thus may operate asIMS-compliant mobile devices. In this embodiment, the cellular basestation 521 may communicate directly with the IMS network 550 as shownby the arrow connecting the cellular base station 521 and the P-CSCF516.

Alternative forms of a CSCF can operate in a device, system, component,or other form of centralized or distributed hardware and/or software.Indeed, a respective CSCF may be embodied as a respective CSCF systemhaving one or more computers or servers, either centralized ordistributed, where each computer or server may be configured to performor provide, in whole or in part, any method, step, or functionalitydescribed herein in accordance with a respective CSCF. Likewise, otherfunctions, servers and computers described herein, including but notlimited to, the HSS, the ENUM server, the BGCF, and the MGCF, can beembodied in a respective system having one or more computers or servers,either centralized or distributed, where each computer or server may beconfigured to perform or provide, in whole or in part, any method, step,or functionality described herein in accordance with a respectivefunction, server, or computer.

The virtual assistant processor 430 of FIG. 4 can be operably coupled tocommunication system 500 for purposes similar to those described above.The virtual assistant processor 430 can perform function 462 and therebyprovide virtual asynchronous assistant services to the CDs 501, 502, 503and 505 of FIG. 5, similar to the functions described for the systems100, 200 of FIGS. 1 and 2, and the virtual assistant processor 430 ofFIG. 4, in accordance with the process 300 of FIG. 3. CDs 501, 502, 503and 505, which can be adapted with software to perform function 572 toutilize the services of the virtual assistant processor 430, similar tothe functions described for the systems 100, 200 of FIGS. 1 and 2 inaccordance with the process 300 of FIG. 3. The virtual assistantprocessor 430 can be an integral part of the application server(s) 517performing function 574, which can be substantially similar to function462 and adapted to the operations of the IMS network 550.

For illustration purposes only, the terms S-CSCF, P-CSCF, I-CSCF, and soon, can be server devices, but may be referred to in the subjectdisclosure without the word “server.” It is also understood that anyform of a CSCF server can operate in a device, system, component, orother form of centralized or distributed hardware and software. It isfurther noted that these terms and other terms such as DIAMETER commandsare terms can include features, methodologies, and/or fields that may bedescribed in whole or in part by standards bodies such as 3^(rd)Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). It is further noted that some orall embodiments of the subject disclosure may in whole or in partmodify, supplement, or otherwise supersede final or proposed standardspublished and promulgated by 3GPP.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a web portal 602 of acommunication system 600. Communication system 600 can be overlaid oroperably coupled with the systems 100, 200 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2,communication system 400, and/or communication system 500 as anotherrepresentative embodiment of systems 100, 200 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2,communication system 400, and/or communication system 500. The webportal 602 can be used for managing services of systems 100, 200 ofFIGS. 1 and/or 2, and communication systems 400-500. A web page of theweb portal 602 can be accessed by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) withan Internet browser using an Internet-capable communication device suchas those described in FIGS. 1 and/or 2 and FIGS. 4-5. The web portal 602can be configured, for example, to access a media processor 406 andservices managed thereby such as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a Videoon Demand (VoD) catalog, an Electronic Programming Guide (EPG), or apersonal catalog (such as personal videos, pictures, audio recordings,etc.) stored at the media processor 406. The web portal 602 can also beused for provisioning IMS services described earlier, provisioningInternet services, provisioning cellular phone services, and so on.

The web portal 602 can further be utilized to manage and provisionsoftware applications 462-466, and 572-572 to adapt these applicationsas may be desired by subscribers and/or service providers of systems100, 200 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2, and communication systems 400-500. Forinstance, users and/or operators, e.g., support operators or serviceprovider operations, of the services provided by virtual assistantserver 430 can log into their on-line accounts and provision the servers110 or virtual assistant server 430 with domain selections, datacollection and/or output/status reporting preferences, and so on.Service providers can log onto an administrator account to provision,monitor and/or maintain the systems 100, 200 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 or thevirtual assistant server 430.

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication device 700.Communication device 700 can serve in whole or in part as anillustrative embodiment of the devices depicted in FIGS. 1 and/or 2, andFIGS. 4-5 and can be configured to perform portions of the process 300of FIG. 3.

Communication device 700 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 702 (herein transceiver 702), a user interface (UI) 704, apower supply 714, a location receiver 716, a motion sensor 718, anorientation sensor 720, and a controller 706 for managing operationsthereof. The transceiver 702 can support short-range or long-rangewireless access technologies such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi, DECT, orcellular communication technologies, just to mention a few (Bluetooth®and ZigBee® are trademarks registered by the Bluetooth® Special InterestGroup and the ZigBee® Alliance, respectively). Cellular technologies caninclude, for example, CDMA-1×, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, EV/DO,WiMAX, SDR, LTE, as well as other next generation wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 702 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCP/IP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 704 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 708 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device700. The keypad 708 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 700 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth®. The keypad 708 canrepresent a numeric keypad commonly used by phones, and/or a QWERTYkeypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 704 can further include a display710 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED(Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technology forconveying images to an end user of the communication device 700. In anembodiment where the display 710 is touch-sensitive, a portion or all ofthe keypad 708 can be presented by way of the display 710 withnavigation features.

The display 710 can use touch screen technology to also serve as a userinterface for detecting user input. As a touch screen display, thecommunication device 700 can be adapted to present a user interface withgraphical user interface (GUI) elements that can be selected by a userwith a touch of a finger. The touch screen display 710 can be equippedwith capacitive, resistive or other forms of sensing technology todetect how much surface area of a user's finger has been placed on aportion of the touch screen display. This sensing information can beused to control the manipulation of the GUI elements or other functionsof the user interface. The display 710 can be an integral part of thehousing assembly of the communication device 700 or an independentdevice communicatively coupled thereto by a tethered wireline interface(such as a cable) or a wireless interface.

The UI 704 can also include an audio system 712 that utilizes audiotechnology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heard inproximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such as speakerphonefor hands free operation). The audio system 712 can further include amicrophone for receiving audible signals of an end user. The audiosystem 712 can also be used for voice recognition applications. The UI704 can further include an image sensor 713 such as a charged coupleddevice (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 714 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and/or charging system technologies for supplying energyto the components of the communication device 700 to facilitatelong-range or short-range portable applications. Alternatively, or incombination, the charging system can utilize external power sources suchas DC power supplied over a physical interface such as a USB port orother suitable tethering technologies.

The location receiver 716 can utilize location technology such as aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver capable of assisted GPS foridentifying a location of the communication device 700 based on signalsgenerated by a constellation of GPS satellites, which can be used forfacilitating location services such as navigation. The motion sensor 718can utilize motion sensing technology such as an accelerometer, agyroscope, or other suitable motion sensing technology to detect motionof the communication device 700 in three-dimensional space. Theorientation sensor 720 can utilize orientation sensing technology suchas a magnetometer to detect the orientation of the communication device700 (north, south, west, and east, as well as combined orientations indegrees, minutes, or other suitable orientation metrics).

The communication device 700 can use the transceiver 702 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth®, or other wirelessaccess points by sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) and/or signal time of arrival (TOA) or time offlight (TOF) measurements. The controller 706 can utilize computingtechnologies such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP),programmable gate arrays, application specific integrated circuits,and/or a video processor with associated storage memory such as Flash,ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies for executingcomputer instructions, controlling, and processing data supplied by theaforementioned components of the communication device 700.

Other components not shown in FIG. 7 can be used in one or moreembodiments of the subject disclosure. For instance, the communicationdevice 700 can include a reset button (not shown). The reset button canbe used to reset the controller 706 of the communication device 700. Inyet another embodiment, the communication device 700 can also include afactory default setting button positioned, for example, below a smallhole in a housing assembly of the communication device 700 to force thecommunication device 700 to re-establish factory settings. In thisembodiment, a user can use a protruding object such as a pen or paperclip tip to reach into the hole and depress the default setting button.The communication device 700 can also include a slot for adding orremoving an identity module such as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)card. SIM cards can be used for identifying subscriber services,executing programs, storing subscriber data, and so forth.

The communication device 700 as described herein can operate with moreor less of the circuit components shown in FIG. 7. These variantembodiments can be used in one or more embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

The communication device 700 can be adapted to perform the functions ofthe systems 100, 200 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2, the media processor 406, themedia devices 408, or the portable communication devices 416 of FIG. 4,as well as the IMS CDs 501-502 and PSTN CDs 503-505 of FIG. 5. It willbe appreciated that the communication device 700 can also representother devices that can operate in systems 100, 200 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2,communication systems 400-500 of FIGS. 4-5 such as a gaming console anda media player. In addition, the controller 706 can be adapted invarious embodiments to perform the functions 462-466 and 572-574,respectively.

Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would be evident to anartisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope of theclaims described below. For example, the virtual assistant processor caninclude a learning phase in which a user is prompted to respond to oneor more questions, selections and/or practice tasks. Other embodimentscan be used in the subject disclosure.

It should be understood that devices described in the exemplaryembodiments can be in communication with each other via various wirelessand/or wired methodologies. The methodologies can be links that aredescribed as coupled, connected and so forth, which can includeunidirectional and/or bidirectional communication over wireless pathsand/or wired paths that utilize one or more of various protocols ormethodologies, where the coupling and/or connection can be direct (e.g.,no intervening processing device) and/or indirect (e.g., an intermediaryprocessing device such as a router).

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 800 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethods described above. One or more instances of the machine canoperate, for example, as the virtual assistant processor 430, the mediaprocessor 406 the data collector, the data analyzer 104, 204, thepolicy/rules engine 106, 216, the application controller 108, 218, theresponse engine 112, and/or the AI engine 114, the input processor 202,the response orchestrator 222, the output processor 224, the domainmodel repository 212, the task flow model repository 214, the vocabularyrepository 206, the language pattern recognizer 208, the languageinterpreter 210, and other devices of FIGS. 1-2. In some embodiments,the machine may be connected (e.g., using a network 826) to othermachines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate in thecapacity of a server or a client user machine in a server-client usernetwork environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet, a smart phone, a laptop computer, adesktop computer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge,or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a communication device of the subject disclosureincludes broadly any electronic device that provides voice, video ordata communication. Further, while a single machine is illustrated, theterm “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machinesthat individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) ofinstructions to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein.

The computer system 800 may include a processor (or controller) 802(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)), a graphics processing unit(GPU, or both), a main memory 804 and a static memory 806, whichcommunicate with each other via a bus 808. The computer system 800 mayfurther include a display unit 810 (e.g., a liquid crystal display(LCD), a flat panel, or a solid state display). The computer system 800may include an input device 812 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 814 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 816, a signal generationdevice 818 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 820. In distributed environments, the embodiments described inthe subject disclosure can be adapted to utilize multiple display units810 controlled by two or more computer systems 800. In thisconfiguration, presentations described by the subject disclosure may inpart be shown in a first of the display units 810, while the remainingportion is presented in a second of the display units 810.

The disk drive unit 816 may include a tangible computer-readable storagemedium 822 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g.,software 824) embodying any one or more of the methods or functionsdescribed herein, including those methods illustrated above. Theinstructions 824 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 804, the static memory 806, and/or within theprocessor 802 during execution thereof by the computer system 800. Themain memory 804 and the processor 802 also may constitute tangiblecomputer-readable storage media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Application specific integrated circuits andprogrammable logic array can use downloadable instructions for executingstate machines and/or circuit configurations to implement embodiments ofthe subject disclosure. Applications that may include the apparatus andsystems of various embodiments broadly include a variety of electronicand computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions in two ormore specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with relatedcontrol and data signals communicated between and through the modules,or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Thus, theexample system is applicable to software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the subject disclosure, theoperations or methods described herein are intended for operation assoftware programs or instructions running on or executed by a computerprocessor or other computing device, and which may include other formsof instructions manifested as a state machine implemented with logiccomponents in an application specific integrated circuit or fieldprogrammable gate array. Furthermore, software implementations (e.g.,software programs, instructions, etc.) including, but not limited to,distributed processing or component/object distributed processing,parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also beconstructed to implement the methods described herein. Distributedprocessing environments can include multiple processors in a singlemachine, single processors in multiple machines, and/or multipleprocessors in multiple machines. It is further noted that a computingdevice such as a processor, a controller, a state machine or othersuitable device for executing instructions to perform operations ormethods may perform such operations directly or indirectly by way of oneor more intermediate devices directed by the computing device.

While the tangible computer-readable storage medium 822 is shown in anexample embodiment to be a single medium, the term “tangiblecomputer-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a singlemedium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database,and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “tangible computer-readable storage medium” shallalso be taken to include any non-transitory medium that is capable ofstoring or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methods ofthe subject disclosure. The term “non-transitory” as in a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage includes without limitation memories, drives,devices and anything tangible but not a signal per se.

The term “tangible computer-readable storage medium” shall accordinglybe taken to include, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such asa memory card or other package that houses one or more read-only(non-volatile) memories, random access memories, or other re-writable(volatile) memories, a magneto-optical or optical medium such as a diskor tape, or other tangible media which can be used to store information.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more ofa tangible computer-readable storage medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are from time-to-timesuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Wireless standards for device detection (e.g.,RFID), short-range communications (e.g., Bluetooth®, WiFi, Zigbee), andlong-range communications (e.g., WiMAX, GSM, CDMA, LTE) can be used bycomputer system 800. In one or more embodiments, information regardinguse of services can be generated including services being accessed,media consumption history, user preferences, and so forth. Thisinformation can be obtained by various methods including user input,detecting types of communications (e.g., video content vs. audiocontent), analysis of content streams, and so forth. The generating,obtaining and/or monitoring of this information can be responsive to anauthorization provided by the user. In one or more embodiments, ananalysis of data can be subject to authorization from user(s) associatedwith the data, such as an opt-in, an opt-out, acknowledgementrequirements, notifications, selective authorization based on types ofdata, and so forth.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Theexemplary embodiments can include combinations of features and/or stepsfrom multiple embodiments. Other embodiments may be utilized and derivedtherefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Figuresare also merely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certainproportions thereof may be exaggerated, while others may be minimized.Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement which achieves thesame or similar purpose may be substituted for the embodiments describedor shown by the subject disclosure. The subject disclosure is intendedto cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, can be used in the subject disclosure.For instance, one or more features from one or more embodiments can becombined with one or more features of one or more other embodiments. Inone or more embodiments, features that are positively recited can alsobe negatively recited and excluded from the embodiment with or withoutreplacement by another structural and/or functional feature. The stepsor functions described with respect to the embodiments of the subjectdisclosure can be performed in any order. The steps or functionsdescribed with respect to the embodiments of the subject disclosure canbe performed alone or in combination with other steps or functions ofthe subject disclosure, as well as from other embodiments or from othersteps that have not been described in the subject disclosure. Further,more than or less than all of the features described with respect to anembodiment can also be utilized.

Less than all of the steps or functions described with respect to theexemplary processes or methods can also be performed in one or more ofthe exemplary embodiments. Further, the use of numerical terms todescribe a device, component, step or function, such as first, second,third, and so forth, is not intended to describe an order or functionunless expressly stated so. The use of the terms first, second, thirdand so forth, is generally to distinguish between devices, components,steps or functions unless expressly stated otherwise. Additionally, oneor more devices or components described with respect to the exemplaryembodiments can facilitate one or more functions, where the facilitating(e.g., facilitating access or facilitating establishing a connection)can include less than every step needed to perform the function or caninclude all of the steps needed to perform the function.

In one or more embodiments, a processor (which can include a controlleror circuit) has been described that performs various functions. Itshould be understood that the processor can be multiple processors,which can include distributed processors or parallel processors in asingle machine or multiple machines. The processor can be used insupporting a virtual processing environment. The virtual processingenvironment may support one or more virtual machines representingcomputers, servers, or other computing devices. In such virtualmachines, components such as microprocessors and storage devices may bevirtualized or logically represented. The processor can include a statemachine, application specific integrated circuit, and/or programmablegate array including a Field PGA. In one or more embodiments, when aprocessor executes instructions to perform “operations”, this caninclude the processor performing the operations directly and/orfacilitating, directing, or cooperating with another device or componentto perform the operations.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided with the understanding thatit will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can beseen that various features are grouped together in a single embodimentfor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method ofdisclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that theclaimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited ineach claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subjectmatter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimedsubject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: obtaining, by a processingsystem comprising a processor, an input from equipment of a user,wherein the input comprises a task request; identifying, by theprocessing system, first actions based on the input; generating, by theprocessing system, second actions, wherein each of the second actionscomprises a concatenation of at least two of the first actions;modifying, by the processing system, at least one of the second actionsresponsive to identifying a conflict associated with the second actions,resulting in modified second actions; and performing, by the processingsystem, the modified second actions.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe first actions include an elementary action that addresses a taskorder associated with the task request, a subtask order associated withthe task request, a portion of the task order associated with the taskrequest or a portion of the subtask order associated with the taskrequest, and further comprising: adopting, by the processing system, aprofile based on an identity of the user, wherein the adopting theprofile results in modifications to a module that is utilized by theprocessing system during at least one of the identifying the firstactions, the generating the second actions, or a combination thereof. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the input comprises a voice input, andfurther comprising obtaining, by the processing system, a textual inputbased on the voice input.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingrequesting, by the processing system, supplemental input, wherein themodifying the at least one of the second actions is based on thesupplemental input.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprisingparsing, by the processing system, the input.
 6. The method of claim 5,further comprising: determining, by the processing system, a sequence inwhich the first actions are initiated.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe modifying the at least one of the second actions comprisesrequesting clarification from the user for the conflict.
 8. A system,comprising: a processing system including a processor; and a memory thatstores executable instructions that, when executed by the processingsystem, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:obtaining an input from equipment of a user, wherein the input comprisesa task request; identifying first actions based on the input; generatingsecond actions, wherein each of the second actions comprises aconcatenation of at least two of the first actions; determining aconflict associated with the second actions; requesting supplementalinput associated with resolving the conflict; modifying at least one ofthe second actions responsive to the supplemental input resulting inmodified second actions; and performing the modified second actions. 9.The system of claim 8, wherein the input comprises a vocalized input,and wherein the operations further converting the vocalized input to amachine-interpretable input.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein thefirst actions include an elementary action that addresses a task orderassociated with the task request, a subtask order associated with thetask request, a portion of the task order associated with the taskrequest or a portion of the subtask order associated with the taskrequest, and wherein the operations further comprise parsing the input.11. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprisedetermining a sequence in which the first actions are initiated.
 12. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise adopting, bythe processing system, a profile based on an identity of the user. 13.The system of claim 12, wherein the adopting the profile results inmodifications to a module that is utilized by the processing systemduring the identifying the first actions.
 14. The system of claim 12,wherein the adopting the profile results in modifications to a modulethat is utilized by the processing system during the generating thesecond actions.
 15. A non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium,comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processingsystem including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, theoperations comprising: obtaining an input from equipment of a user,wherein the input comprises a task request; identifying first actionsbased on the input; generating second actions, wherein each of thesecond actions comprises a concatenation of at least two of the firstactions; modifying at least one of the second actions responsive toidentifying a conflict associated with the second actions, resulting inmodified second actions; and performing the modified second actions. 16.The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, whereinthe input comprises a voice input, wherein the operations furthercomprises obtaining a textual input based on the voice input.
 17. Thenon-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein theoperations further comprise: adopting a profile based on an identity ofthe user, wherein the adopting the profile results in modifications to amodule that is utilized by the processing system during at least one ofthe identifying the first actions, the generating the second actions, ora combination thereof.
 18. The non-transitory, machine-readable storagemedium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: requestingsupplemental input, wherein the modifying the second actions is based onthe supplemental input.
 19. The non-transitory, machine-readable storagemedium of claim 18, wherein the modifying the second actions comprisesrequesting clarification from the user for the conflict.
 20. Thenon-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein thefirst actions include an elementary action that addresses a task orderassociated with the task request, a subtask order associated with thetask request, a portion of the task order associated with the taskrequest or a portion of the subtask order associated with the taskrequest, and wherein the operations further comprise parsing the input.